


The Guillotine Made of Starlight

by Riverthunder



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Execution, Gen, M/M, Memories, Murder, Tony Doesn't Say Goodbye, Tony Made Another AI
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 08:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18587647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riverthunder/pseuds/Riverthunder
Summary: Tony never saysgoodbyeto Stephen and Peter. He has other things he says to them-see you soon, orI'll be back soon.Then one day they get a call from him.





	The Guillotine Made of Starlight

**Author's Note:**

> Scared about _Endgame_ so I'm posting some stuff that's been sitting in my Drive. I won't see it for a bit so no spoilers, please!!  
>   
>  **My friend:** What if Tony never says _goodbye_ , but then one day he does?  
>  **Me:** You asked for this, I'm writing it.

Tony Stark was an unusual man. There were many reasons for people to draw such a conclusion, but one of the biggest were his relationships with his husband Stephen Strange and his son Peter Parker.  
Tony seemed to have an aversion to the word goodbye. He seemed on edge if either of his family members used it with him, and he absolutely refused to ever use the word when parting ways with his beloved or their heir.  
“ _I’ll see you later, Stephen_ ,” Tony would say as he headed off to a meeting.  
“ _See you soon, Peter_ ,” Tony would smile, ruffling his son’s hair.  
“ _Until we meet again, my love_ ,” Tony would murmur, kissing Stephen’s cheek.  
There were never any goodbyes.  
Stephen had heard Tony murmur small wisdoms about the word to Peter:  
“ _It’s not ‘goodbye’; it’s ‘until we meet again’_.”  
“ _Never say goodbye, because goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting_.”  
“ _If there’s one thing I could never stand, it was goodbyes_.”  
Somehow, Stephen found comfort in that.  
Tony despised goodbyes….so there was no need to ever fear such a thing from him.  
...Or so the sorcerer had thought.  
~(*)~  
Tony smiled sadly at Peter as he prepared to leave the helicarrier to face Loki in New York. He had no other choice; he had to protect the city. To protect Earth. To protect his husband and son.  
He bent down and brushed his lips gently across the child’s cheek.  
“I’ll see you soon, alright, little one?”  
Peter giggled, reaching for him, but Tony drew back to join the Avengers.  
~(*)~  
Tony gripped Stephen’s hand tightly as he prepared to leave for Sokovia. He smiled at his beloved husband, a sparkle in his brown eyes.  
“I won’t be long,” he murmured. “I’ll see you when I get back, alright?”  
Stephen nodded, forcing himself not to voice the fear that Tony would not return, watching as Tony turned away, pulling his fingers from Stephen’s grip. ~(*)~ Even as Stephen was beginning to drift away on the wind, being reduced to ash by the Mad Titan, even as Tony vainly reached for him, he could not utter such a damning word. “I’ll get you back,” he vowed, tears sparkling in his eyes as he reached out for Stephen, who held out his hand to him. “I know you will.” “I promise, Stephen, I’ll get you back. Trust me, okay?” But before Stephen could answer, he was already gone, banished to some realm of eternal sunsets. ~(*)~ The wretched _goodbye_ never crossed Tony’s lips. Never. Tony refused to deal in such absolutes for anyone. ~(*)~ Stephen smiled when he saw the contact name light up on his buzzing phone. _Tony._ His beloved scientist, the mechanic, the best defender of Earth.  
He flicked the answer button and smiled as he answered, “Tony, Love, what-”  
“Stephen.”  
Stephen froze, shocked by the sound in Tony’s throat, like he was holding back tears.  
“Tony? Are you alright?”  
“Is Peter with you?”  
“Yes, of course,” Stephen said, getting to his feet. “He’s just working on his homework.”  
Peter looked up from his place at the kitchen table where his textbooks were spread messily out, a curious look in his eyes. “Tony, what’s wrong?”  
“Put me on speaker. Please?”  
Stephen moved to do as his husband asked.  
“Can you both hear me?” Tony asked, his voice still choked up.  
“Yes, Dad,” Peter said.  
“We can, Tony,” Stephen said.  
“Good. I...I want you both to know...I love you both very much. So, so much. I thought you should know that. You both...you both deserve to know that. Stephen, Peter...you both mean the world to me, and I would do anything for you.”  
There was a pause, a deep, shuddering breath.  
“ _Goodbye, Stephen. Goodbye, Peter_.”  
The line went dead.  
Stephen and Peter stared at the phone, then slowly looked at each other.  
What were they meant to make of that?  
~(*)~  
It had been an execution.  
Tony had been kidnapped by a terrorist group and executed.  
Stephen had felt sick when Fury told him they’d found the video- _they’d filmed a video_ \- of Tony’s death.  
His call was a part of it- he’d been strapped to a guillotine, one of his executioners holding the phone to his ear so he could send his husband and son his final message.  
His only goodbye.  
Stephen shuddered every time he thought about Tony’s death.  
Imagining his husband facing the horrific beheading, his voice shaking from fear and grief, Stephen unable to rescue him.  
Fury had recovered his body, and Stephen had taken some comfort in the fact that Tony was now safely buried where he and Peter could visit him.  
He’d refused the idea of an open casket service, although he’d been assured that with the right suit and makeup no one would ever see where they’d reattached Tony’s head to his neck.  
Stephen had a hard enough time wrapping his mind around Tony’s violent death- as selfish as it sounded, he didn’t want to see his body and have that violent death confirmed.  
Stephen just wanted it all to be fake.  
He wanted to go back to a time where his family was whole.  
He wanted to go back to a time where Tony was alive.  
He wanted to go back to a time where Tony never said the word _goodbye_.  
~(*)~  
It had been six months since Tony was executed.  
Six months since Stephen lost his husband.  
Six months since Peter lost his dad.  
Six months since their family had gotten smaller.  
Peter shuffled nervously outside the lab. He hadn’t entered since Tony died- it held too many memories of his father.  
But it felt like Tony was beginning to slip away, and Peter didn’t want to let that happen.  
He loved Tony so much- he was willing to face the new cold, empty feeling the lab held if it could keep some memories of Tony alive for him.  
He looked around, and suddenly something caught his attention.  
One of the monitors.  
Tony never let him mess with that monitor.  
“ _This one is special_ ,” Tony had said mysteriously. “ _You’ll understand one day_.”  
Tony could never show him now.  
Curiously, Peter inched forward, his fingertips reaching out to the monitor.  
He jumped back in surprise as a cool, female voice- not FRIDAY, but some other AI- crooned, “Peter Stark-Strange has activated the _Goodbye_ Protocol.”  
“I- the what?” Peter asked, spluttering in surprise, but the AI did not answer.  
Instead, a video appeared on the monitor, and Peter watched in awe as whoever was filming the video before him held out his hands to cradle the baby being offered to him by some woman Peter didn’t recognize.  
The baby whined and whimpered, but the arms rocked it gently, and slowly it worked to quiet itself.  
“There you go, Peter,” Tony’s voice said, while the baby yawned at him.  
Peter stared. The camera shifted, focusing on a younger Stephen Strange, who reached out a trembling, scarred hand to gently stroke the fat little cheek of the baby in Tony’s arms.  
“Isn’t he perfect?” Tony’s voice asked.  
“He’s beautiful,” Stephen murmured, and Peter saw the soft, fond smile Stephen almost always wore when he saw him playing on his face.  
As Peter stared, he placed his hand down beside the monitor, and then yelped as more holograms appeared around the monitor.  
New scenes were playing, all from Tony’s perspective.  
_Peter was taking his first steps, toddling away from Stephen’s protective arms, held out to catch him in case he fell, to the outstretched arms before him._  
_“Come on, Peter! You can do it! Good job! You’re doing such a good job!”_  
_The baby giggled, and sped up a bit, making Tony and Stephen both laugh._  
_The child collapsed against the scientist’s chest and Tony picked him up, lifting him into the air as he cheered victoriously. “That’s my boy! That’s my smart, smart baby boy! I’m so proud of you, Peter!”_  
Peter was shocked by the sound of the pride in Tony’s voice; the way his voice was choked up with the depth of his emotion.  
Another monitor showed his second grade play- Peter was a mere teacup, but he heard Stephen and Tony murmuring proudly to each other as he sang.  
The time when he was in fourth grade and tried (and failed) to make Tony a birthday cake all by himself.  
The time Tony had helped him with his seventh grade science project, murmuring suggestions while he handled the more dangerous elements of the project.  
The first time Tony and Stephen had let Peter come with them on a mission- Peter heard their pride in his abilities and his empathy firsthand. Not that they’d never told him…. but he’d never heard this conversation, the raw emotional pride.  
The time he’d come home, talking about Liz and how much he admired her intellect and how he wanted to get to know her better. Hearing Tony murmur softly to Stephen as he headed to his room, “ _We’re raising him right. I’m so glad he’s got the right morals_.”  
Peter was shaking.  
He ran from the room.  
~(*)~  
Stephen froze when he saw where Peter was trying to lead him.  
“Peter, no.”  
“But-”  
“Peter, you’re free to go into Tony’s lab if you want,” Stephen murmured, drawing back, a nervous glint in his green eyes. “But I’m….I’m not ready for that yet.”  
“Papa, _please_ ,” Peter begged. “Please, I’m begging you! It’s important!”  
Stephen looked pained. “I can’t, Peter,” the sorcerer whispered, his voice broken and scared. “I can’t. Please understand.”  
“Papa.” Peter moved forward, wrapping his arms around Stephen and hugging his father tightly. “Papa, it’s okay. You really will want to see this, I promise. Just...just, please, listen to me, okay? Just trust me.”  
Reluctantly, Stephen let Peter pull him into the room.  
The monitor was black, the holograms gone. Peter moved towards it, and Stephen drew back again, looking unsure. “You want to activate ASTRID?” He asked, looking uncomfortable. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  
“ASTRID?” Peter asked curiously. “What’s that?”  
“Tony said she was only for...for when he was gone. I think he said ASTRID stood for _A Simply Truly Remarkably Intelligent Design_. I… I just….”  
“You need to see what Dad wanted her to look after,” Peter said. He gently pulled Stephen’s hand to the monitor, so his fingertips grazed the screen.  
“Stephen Strange-Stark has activated the _Goodbye_ Protocol,” ASTRID announced in her cool voice.  
Peter stared as new videos appeared, and as Stephen’s fingertips stayed rested on the screen, holograms began to pop up around them, other memories forever saved appeared around them.  
The one on the monitor was of Stephen in his tuxedo at their wedding, smiling down at the camera- at Tony- before leaning down, his slightly shaking hands moving up to cradle the scientist’s face as he kissed him when the priest had given them permission.  
There were other scenes- battles where Tony seemed unable not to keep his eyes off Stephen, whether it was because he was marveling at the abilities of his husband, or because he was worried about his safety, or because he just thought Stephen was cute.  
There were holograms dedicated to Stephen rocking a baby Peter to sleep, coaxing a toddler Peter to eat, reading a five-year-old Peter a bedtime story.  
He saw scenes of Stephen looking nervous in the passenger seat of a car, saw Tony glance down to intertwine their fingers and grip his hand in an attempt to comfort him, earning him a grateful smile from his husband.  
He saw scenes of the sorcerer protecting Peter during battle with huge, sparking orange shields and saw him looking over his wounds, looking concerned and protective.  
Peter looked away from a hologram of Stephen gently wrapping Peter’s arm, which had been cut in a battle, with a white bandage, wondering what hologram had captured his papa’s attention.  
He froze, staring at what Stephen was watching.  
Soft music was playing, a gentle waltz, and Stephen was smiling down at the camera while they slowly turned.  
He was still in his wedding tuxedo.  
“Is that…?” Peter asked, trailing off as he looked at Stephen, unsure of whether or not he should even ask his papa about the scene.  
“Our...our first dance,” Stephen murmured, and Peter could hear the sorcerer fighting to keep the grief out of his voice.  
The music continued, still soft and sweet.  
Stephen’s face leaned down, and Peter heard his voice, free of sadness. He sounded happy.  
Peter hadn’t heard happiness in Stephen’s voice in six months.  
“I love you, Tony Stark.”  
Tony’s voice answered, sounding just as happy. “And I love you, Stephen Strange.”  
There was a small pause, as Tony fought back a giggle. “Even if you must look ridiculous with _me_ leading _you_.”  
Peter smiled at Stephen, though his father’s eyes were still fixed on the hologram. He hugged him tightly.  
Then he looked up, seeing something over Stephen’s head.  
One of the holograms was a handwritten note from Tony:  
_Goodbyes are not forever._  
_Goodbyes are not the end._  
_They simply mean I’ll miss you,_  
_Until we meet again._  
There were a few others, and Peter looked around for them:  
_It’s not ‘goodbye’; it’s ‘until we meet again’._  
_Never say goodbye, because goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting._  
_If there’s one thing I could never stand, it’s goodbyes._  
_It’s not the goodbye that hurts, but the flashbacks that follow._  
_It’s not “goodbye”. It’s “good night”. So good night. Sweet dreams._  
_How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbyes so hard._  
Peter felt a lump forming in his throat, and then saw the monitor flicker. Tony and Stephen’s wedding disappeared, replaced by Tony’s smiling face. Stephen turned away from their waltz to watch the new scene on the monitor.  
“Stephen, Peter,” Tony said, his voice sad, “if you’re watching this, it means I’m dead. So you probably heard the one and only time I ever told you _goodbye_.” The mechanic paused, then murmured, “I want you both to remember, it’s not ‘goodbye’. It’s ‘I’ll love you forever’. Nothing will change that. And...hopefully seeing what ASTRID has compiled…seeing what I created her for...I hope you realize just how much I have always loved both of you.”  
The monitor went black again.  
“ASTRID,” Peter breathed in awe, watching as holograms flicked across memories, “what is this?”  
The cool female voice responded, and Stephen gripped Peter’s shoulder slightly.  
“Mr. Stark recorded every interaction he ever had with either of you,” the AI responded. “He never wanted to forget a single memory he had of either of you.”

**Author's Note:**

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